Living in Freefall (Living on the Run Book 1) by Ben Patterson Page B

David by the scruff of the neck and
held him firmly to look straight into the man’s eyes. Buck’s tone was quiet and
calm but just as firm as his grip. “Now look here young man. My wife and Kelly
are going to be good friends. You marry her and that’ll make us friends-in-law.
So no more beating around the bush with me—just straight talk, am I
understood?”
    “Now see here, Captain,” David protested.
    “Why’s he your first officer again?” Jordon asked.
    Buck squeezed harder and shook David slightly to make his
meaning clear. “You love her, don’t you?”
    Defiant, David scowled and glared at the older man.
    Buck met his glower and stared him down.
    After a moment, David dropped his head. The fight in him
evaporated and his shoulders slumped. “Yes, I love her. Was I that obvious?”
    “Now you’re talkin’.” Buck glanced at Jordon, but his expression
remained stern.
    “Criminy, David,” Jordon said. “Are you really that blind?
Even I saw by the way you looked at each other that this was the case. But you . . .”
Jordon shook his head in disbelief, “. . . you aren’t being straight
about your feelings for her. Man, time is a luxury you can’t willy-nilly away.
You can’t afford to waste one second. You’ve got to tell her how you feel. And
you had better do it soon.”
    “But how can I tell if she feels the same way about me?”
    Buck slapped the back of the young man’s head. “For heaven’s
sake, man! You are second in command of this fleet’s flagship. How is it a man
of your stature becomes mush-for-brains around women? Now get in there and tell
her how you feel.”
    “You’re going to Providence Prime,” Jordon said. “It’s a
nice place. Take her out. See the sights. Spend time with her. If after all
that you don’t discover how she feels about you . . .”
    Buck released him, and David shrugged. “I’ll do that.” With
that, he said his farewells and headed back to the bridge.
    Jordon climbed into the copilot’s seat as Buck slid in
behind the pilot’s controls.
    Jordon gave his head a slight shake. “Your Second in
command, huh? Really?”
    “He has his strengths,” Buck said, “but he has this stupid
need for military barring and proper protocol and all. He’s a good officer.
He’s just wound too tight. I’m hoping she’ll loosen him up some.”
    “And if he marries her? Seems to me you’ll lose a good first
officer just as he becomes one.”
    Buck grimaced. “Blast! I hadn’t thought of that.”

Chapter Twelve
    Riley hesitantly watched Ericca’s grin spread into a
full-blown devious smile. He trusted her completely, but seeing that smile
always made him nervous. Okay, so she has an idea — now what?
    “Program a couple of rockets, little brother.”
    Rockets? He relaxed his grip and released his long-held
breath. Rockets he understood. “Two rockets? So what’s your idea?”
    The malicious intent filling her eyes to the brim overflowed
into her words. For Riley the fear factor reached a new level. “I want this
fleet blind for at least thirty seconds,” she said. “You got a rocket for
that?”
    “Um, sure . . . I think. On the first, you want a, let’s see , a neutron warhead perhaps. Right! Can do.”
    “And next, I want a Helio trail leading out of the nebula.”
    “Ah, cool.” Riley chuckled. “A disintegrating Helio rocket
should do the trick. It’ll leave a trail, then vanish without a trace once it’s
run its course.”
    “That’s what I want.”
    Riley cocked his head. “Direction?”
    “Your choice, little bro.”
    “Roger, Captain. Ready in thirty seconds.” Riley had a vague
idea of what she planned, but Ericca was a tricky one. He programmed the rockets
as fast as he was able.
    “Set and ready, Captain.”
    “Fire when ready, Archer.”
    He let the Neutron rocket fly and as it arched around back
toward the enemy fleet Ericca brought Viper around.
    Favoom!
    When the rocket exploded, Riley let the second rocket